Mosaic Foster Parents Cafe

In this episode I had the pleasure of sitting down with two of the authors of a new article published in the Child Welfare League Journal that has got many of us in the child welfare system emphatically nodding our heads, YES.

The game-changing article is titled, “Beyond Human-centered Design: The Promise of Antiracist Community-centered Approaches in Child Welfare Program and Policy Design,” and it was written by two women whose amazing work I came across two years ago and who I have been admiring ever since.

Sonya Soni and Jermeen Sherman are doing the revolutionary work our human services systems so desperately need and they’re doing it across several vital mediums. They’re writing. They’re teaching. And they’re raising academic rigor to challenge the system on all fronts. Their lifelong work has culminated to this very moment, and I am so happy that I had the chance to speak with them.

Beyond Human-Centered Design Additional Resources

Presentations/ documents:

• “Beyond Human-Centered Design: The Promise of Antiracist Community-Centered Approaches in Child Welfare Program and Policy Design” link here: https://www.cwla.org/child-welfare-journal/journal-archive)

• A toolkit of community organizing and community participatory methodologies and best practices that I have found most helpful while working in child welfare and local government

• Presentation on community participatory methods

Resources:

• “Design Justice: Community-led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need” by Sasha Constanza-Chock

• A list of resources and case studies that challenge HCD in child welfare and local government

Mr. Finney is special to me. He is my long-time mentor and adviser. When foster care disrupted my life, it was Mr. Finney who stepped in to support me and help guide me through the child welfare system. Without a doubt, he is the reason why I'm the man I am today.

A former English and history teacher, Mr. Finney's cheerful demeanor and ability to redirect my often misplaced energy helped our relationship flourish. Because of Mr. Finney's positivity, nurturing nature, and talent for keeping on an even keel, I believe he has the perspective needed to help re-imagine foster care. And because of our experience, I know he can provide valuable guidance for other mentors in the child welfare space. These traits and his commitment to supporting me are also why I want to honor him as one of our #HeroesOfFosterCare.

More on Takkeem Morgan

I work with child welfare agencies to develop and manage data-driven recruitment and retention campaigns for foster parents.

My mission is to work with others to bring world-class innovation and ingenuity into the child welfare ecosystem.

I'm currently working on using the private sector's innovative technologies to bring foster parents together to connect, share and grow.

For more on me, visit takkeemmorgan.com.

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The Mosaic Foster Parents Café podcast is produced by Zuri Berry (@ZMCPodcasts).

Shannon Schumacher is the president and CEO of The Villages, Indiana’s largest nonprofit child and family services agency. The Villages serves more than 3,100 children and their families every day through an array of services, making it a model for everything from foster family support to older youth services.

The organization has a special role in the Indiana care community because it fills critical gaps for foster families that the government can’t or is unable to handle, such as kinship care and family preservation.

Shannon has been an influential figure who has spearheaded these diverse services that helped widen support for foster families in Indiana. That’s why we proudly call her one of our #HeroesOfFosterCare. In this episode, she explains how The Villages supports families, supplements government services, and how engagement is crucial for older youth services.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• The Villages of Indiana

More on Shannon Shumacher

Shannon has over 25 years of experience creating and expanding social services for families, most recently as the Executive Vice President of Strategy, Innovation, and Clinical Services at Volunteers of America where she worked for 18 years.

She is a Licensed Social Worker, Licensed Counselor, and received her master’s degree in Social Work from Indiana University. She completed a 2-year non-profit Executive Development Program at the University of Notre Dame, Mendoza School of Business and an Executive Leadership Program from American Express™.

She is a member of the Ball State University Department of Social Work’s Advisory Board, the Healthy Families Indiana Think Tank, and the Indiana Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaboration.

She was a recipient of the Hero of Recovery Award from Mental Health America of Indiana in 2018 and the Community Service Award from Drug Free Marion County in 2013.

She is life-long Hoosier who grew up in rural Indiana and lives in Indianapolis with her husband and teenage son. She enjoys traveling, hiking, and running.

More on Takkeem Morgan

I work with child welfare agencies to develop and manage data-driven recruitment and retention campaigns for foster parents.

My mission is to work with others to bring world-class innovation and ingenuity into the child welfare ecosystem.

I'm currently working on using the private sector’s innovative technologies to bring foster parents together to connect, share and grow.

For more on me, visit takkeemmorgan.com.

The Mosaic Foster Parents Café podcast is produced by Zuri Berry (@ZMCPodcasts).

Ashley Ferris is the lead coordinator for an Indiana-based care community. Her story is interesting because she felt called to serve as a foster parent, but she couldn’t get over the hump of getting licensed. It just looked too hard for her. But she still felt burdened to serve. Over time, a friend let her know about Hands of Hope, an organization that partners with child protective services in her state by providing care communities to foster families. That piqued her interest. Then, members of Ashley’s church started a foster care ministry, Hope & Olive Ministries, where she has found her calling. She made a 12-month commitment and has just signed up for another year. That’s why she’s one of our #HeroesOfFosterCare. In this episode, Ashley breaks down the mechanics of a care community, why they’re so important, and how they ensure foster families thrive.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Hope & Olive Ministries

• Promise 686

• Hands of Hope

More on Takkeem Morgan

I work with child welfare agencies to develop and manage data-driven recruitment and retention campaigns for foster parents. My mission is to work with others to bring world-class innovation and ingenuity into the child welfare ecosystem. I'm currently working on using the private sector’s innovative technologies to bring foster parents together to connect, share and grow. For more on me, visit takkeemmorgan.com.

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The Mosaic Foster Parents Café podcast is produced by Zuri Berry (@ZMCPodcasts).

Brittany Burcham is a senior manager of communications by day and a foster parent advocate by night. Brittany is passionate about fostering teens and older youth, and uses every opportunity she can to get the word out. She even launched a TikTok channel upon the request of a foster teen. After her channel @FosterTheTeens reached 800,000 followers, Burcham was featured on Good Morning America. Who says good stories can’t go viral? Burcham has fostered 50 youth between the ages of 10 and 17 since late 2019. That’s why Brittany Burcham is one of our five #HeroesOfFosterCare, now being celebrated on the Mosaic Foster Parents Café podcast. Tune in!

Follow Brittany Burcham on TikTok @fostertheteens.

News coverage of Brittany Burcham

• Fox News: Foster mom's viral TikTok on misconceptions behind caring for teens gets love from millions

• Good Morning America: Woman uses TikTok to educate on the importance of fostering teenagers

• Buzzfeed: This Foster Mom Is Going Viral After Sharing The Routine For Her First Day With New Placements, And It's So Sweet

More on Takkeem Morgan

I work with child welfare agencies to develop and manage data-driven recruitment and retention campaigns for foster parents.

My mission is to work with others to bring world-class innovation and ingenuity into the child welfare ecosystem.

I'm currently working on using the private sector’s innovative technologies to bring foster parents together to connect, share and grow.

For more on me, visit takkeemmorgan.com.

The Mosaic Foster Parents Café podcast is produced by Zuri Berry (@ZMCPodcasts).

Chatney Grice is a veteran frontline worker on behalf of children and families. She has worked 13 years in various capacities serving children and families in Indiana, including community health centers, and home-based and community-based services.

Chatney is currently an assistant deputy director at Indiana Department of Child Services and is working to not only identify challenges in foster parent training but to develop high quality solutions. She’s serious, focused, and motivated. That’s why Chatney Grice is one of our #HeroesOfFosterCare, now being celebrated on the Mosaic Foster Parents Café podcast. Tune in!

We start with a cup check, educate foster parents on the resources available to them, take questions from the community, and reimagine what the foster care system could be in a perfect world.

For more information and resources on the work of the Indiana Department of Child Services, visit indianafostercare.org.

More on Takkeem Morgan

I work with child welfare agencies to develop and manage data-driven recruitment and retention campaigns for foster parents.

My mission is to work with others to bring world-class innovation and ingenuity into the child welfare ecosystem.

I'm currently working on using the private sector’s innovative technologies to bring foster parents together to connect, share and grow.

For more on me, visit takkeemmorgan.com.

The Mosaic Foster Parents Café podcast is produced by Zuri Berry (@ZMCPodcasts).

In this brief clip I share details about how my experience serving children and families and supporting foster parents as a Foster America fellow inspired me to launch #MosaicFosterParentsCafe

It often seems as though foster parents have been made to feel like extras in a movie when in reality they are the co-stars.

Mosaic Foster Parents Café is where all those special guides for vulnerable children meet to become better informed, better prepared and more encouraged to continue to serve on the frontlines of the child welfare system.

I am your host Takkeem Morgan. I spent 8 years of my life navigating the foster care system and that experience inspired me to become a change maker for vulnerable children and an advocate for foster parents.

Through this podcast I hope to inspire the next generation of foster parents and foster children to be great.

Our mission at Mosaic is to inspire and nurture the spirit of serving children and families one foster parent, one episode, and one community at a time.